Lane 342: Module 1

Module ONE
1st
& 2nd
weeks
Course Title: Fiction
Course Code & NO.: LANE 342
Course Credit Hrs.: 3 per week
Level: 6th
Level
Instructor: Dr. Noora Al-Malki
Credits of images and online content are to their original owners.
The Rise of Fiction

Session Content
- Early Fictional Records
- Why are we reflecting on these older
texts?
- What is literary fiction?
- Rating Fiction!
- Genres & sub-genres
- Elements of Fiction
- The rise of the novel
- NEXT lecture
01/12/19 Dr. Noora Malki, al (c) all rights reserved 2

Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module, students
should be able to:
1.trace the development of fiction as a
literary genre.
2.identify and discuss fiction
classifications.
3.discuss fictional genres and sub-
genres.
4.trace the development of the novel as
a literary genre.

Early Fictional Records
Epic of Gilgamesh (Sumer bf 2000 BC)
•First great work of literature (poem?)
•Gilgamesh, King of Uruk & his friend Enkidu
•Journey to the Cedar Mountain and defeat Humbaba
•Conflict with Goddess Ishtar
•Gilgamesh is punished by sentencing Enkidu to death
•Journey to discover the secret of eternal life
Quote
“Death lives in the house where my bed is,
and wherever I set my feet, there Death is.”

Zhuangzi (China 3rd
Century BC)
•Authorship: Master Zhuang
•Form: short stories, anecdotes. allegories, fables
•Structure: episodic, philosophical treatise (essay)
•Hero: Zhuang
•Theme: Carefree life
•Influence: alongside Dao De Jing, these two works had a great influence on
Eastern & Western literatures
Quote
"Once upon a time, Zhuang Zhou dreamed he was a butterfly, a butterfly
flitting about happily enjoying himself. He did not know that he was Zhou.
Suddenly he awoke, and was palpably Zhou. He did not know whether he was
Zhou, who had dreamed of being a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming that he
was Zhou. Now, there must be a difference between Zhou and the butterfly.
This is called the transformation of things.“ Zhuangzi, chapter 2

One Thousand and One Nights (Islamic World 10th
-14th
Cs.)
•Authorship: Unknown
•Form: Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction, Allegories, Fables
•Structure: episodic
•Protagonists & Antagonists: Iconic characters
•Theme: Fate & Destiny
•Influence: Translated to western languages during the 18th
C. It is
considered one of the Earliest science fiction books (travel across the cosmos,
humanoid robots)
Quote
“My story is of such marvel that if it were written with a needle on the corner
of an eye, it would yet serve as a lesson to those who seek wisdom.”

Hayy ibn Yaqzan or Philosophus Autodidactus (Middle Ages: Islamic World 12th
Cs.)
•Authorship: Abubacer Aben Tofail
•Form: Philosophical romance & allegorical novel (Sufism)
•Structure: philosophical treatise (essay)
•Hero: Feral child raised by a gazelle
•Setting: a desert island
•Theme: Discovering “truth” through a process of inquiry
•Influence: had great influence on Western literature during 17th
& 18th
Cs., and
on Western philosophers like Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Isaac Newton,
and Kant. Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe’s is said to have been influenced by Aben
Tofail’s account.

The Tale of Genji (Middle Ages: Japan 11th
C.)
•Authorship: noblewoman, Murasaki Shikibu
•The World’ first novel, first psychological novel, Historical novel, a classic
•Translated into English in 1882
•Form: Novel, Romance, Saga
•Structure: Parts, Chapters, Instalments
•Hero: Hikaru Genji, or "Shining Genji"
•Setting: The court
•Theme: love, political intrigue
•Influence: The famous novelist Jorge Luis Borges said of it, "The Tale of Genji,
as translated by Arthur Waley, is written with an almost miraculous naturalness,
and what interests us is not the exoticism—the horrible word—but rather the
human passions of the novel.

Le Morte d'Arthur (Renaissance: Europe 15th
C.)
•Authorship: Thomas Malory
•Based on stories about King Arthur and
his knights from English and French literatures.
•Form: Knightly Romance
•Hero: King Arthur
•Setting: The court
•Theme: love, war
•Influence: This text has a great influence on the mentality of men of letters who
later wrote about the Arthurian legends in a fictional format.

Don Quixote (Spain early 17th
C.)
•Authorship: Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
•One of the first canonical novels in European literature
•Form: Knightly Romance ( picaresque - burlesque)
•Hero: unnamed nobleman who is insane and travelling with a witty farmer,
Sancho Panza
•Setting: plains of La Mancha
•Theme: satire of orthodoxy, conflict between reality and imagination
•Influence: It influenced the art of such figures as Picasso, and the fiction of
writers such as Dumas (early 19th
C.), and Mark Twain (late 19th
C.).

Why are we reflecting on these older texts?
- Historical merit (Recorded Texts)
- Literary merit
- Far-reaching influence (transcending time and
influencing various cultures)

A Fictional work is an imaginative rendering of life in
narrative form that uses prose as a medium. Generally
speaking, a fictional narrative is a falsehood because it
relates events that have never actually taken place, and it
explores the lives of people (characters) who never existed,
However, fiction writers aim at depicting “legitimate
falsehoods,” since they seek to demonstrate meaningful,
universal insights into the human condition.
What is Fiction?

There are various categories which we use to classify
fictional narratives:
-Literary Fiction (distinguished writing, original thought, and style
which sets it a part from ordinary written works).
-Canon Literature: (a group of literary works that are considered the
most important of a particular time period or place).
-Commercial Fiction (appeals to a broader audience and can be in
sub-genres like mystery, romance, thriller, western, science fiction,
etc.)
Rating Fiction!

A genre is a broad term that translates from the French to mean
'kind' or 'type.' Genre refers to any works that share certain
characteristics.
Major features of Fiction as a genre:
-Prose
-Broader subject matter
-Use of figurative language
-More structured than poetry
Genres & Sub-Genres

Short Story
3,500 - 7,500 Words
A short story is the commonest form of fictional writing. It is a
short prose narrative, which is often used to depict a single event, a
single episode, or the life of a specific character. There are no major
conflicts presented. On the level of plot, there are no multiple story
lines (sub-plots). The number of characters is also small.
Genres & Sub-Genres Classifications: Based on Form

Novelette
7,500 - 17,000 words
A fictional prose narrative. It is longer than a short-story, but it
must be shorter than a novella. There is no big difference between a
short story or a novelette except in the word count. Its limitations
are those of the short story form described earlier.

Novella
17,000 - 40,000 Words
It is a prose fictional narrative that has its roots in the Italian
literary tradition. A novella is longer than a novelette. It can contain
many sub-plots, conflicts and characters. However, it is basically
written with a satirical, moral or educational purpose in mind.

Novel
40,000+ Words
A long prose narrative that involves multiple major characters, sub-
plots, conflicts and twists. A novel is of a considerable duration and
length, in which the plot moves forward by different actions,
thoughts, results, situations that are evoked by different characters
involved in it.

 Crime
 Fantasy
 Historical
 Horror
 Mystery
 Detective
 Romance
 Science fiction
 Western
 Children Fiction
 Young Adult
Genres & Sub-Genres Classifications: Based on Subject Matter

Like the artist who uses various tools to portray his
subject, the fiction writer uses character, setting, plot, point
of view, theme, and various kinds of symbolism and
language to create artistic effect in fiction. These features of
fiction are known as its formal elements.
Understanding the formal elements of a fictional
narrative will help the reader appreciate critically any
piece of fiction.
Elements of Fiction

The Elements of Fiction
1. PLOT1. PLOT
- “Why" – makes sense of all the choices that
the characters make.
-Plot's structure (mystery- thriller…etc.)
(straightforward or chronological [linear] vs.
shifting [forshadowing])
What Goes into a Plot?

The Elements of Literature
1. PLOT1. PLOT
Common Conflict Types in Fiction:
Man Versus Self
These are internal battles that characters suffer
from internally which affect their actions,
motivations and interactions with other
characters.

1. PLOT1. PLOT
Man Versus Society
These are conflicts where your characters’ firm
beliefs are against the norms, ideologies, or
beliefs of society. It could be social evils or
discrimination practiced by society that is
opposed by a minority.

1. PLOT1. PLOT
Man Versus Man
These are the most common of conflicts. The
characters of a story will be opposed by or will
oppose the actions, reactions, motivations of
another character or characters.

1. PLOT1. PLOT
Man Versus Nature
In such fictional accounts, nature stands as the
obstacle in the way of characters. The
resolution of these narratives usually represent
the triumph of human spirit over adversity.

1. PLOT1. PLOT
Most stories begin with rising action as the
character encounters a conflict which is
represented as a series of plot complications.
This conflict reaches a climax, after which it is
resolved. This is followed by falling action,
which leads quickly to the story's resolution,
that either emerges because of a change in the
character or the situation.

2. SETTING2. SETTING
The setting of a story is its time and place. Fictional narratives have two
types of setting: Physical and Chronological. Also, a setting of a story
can describe the social context of an age or a specific mood.

3. CHARACTER3. CHARACTER
WHO?
Antagonist vs. Protagonist
Realism/convincing
TYPES:
Developing (Round)
Static (flat, stereotypes, types,…)
Telling vs. Showing

4. THEME4. THEME
The theme of a fable is its moral. The theme of a parable is its
teaching. The theme of a piece of fiction is its view about life and how
people behave.
In fact, it is not presented directly at all. You must figure out the
theme yourself.
How to figure out the theme?
Title- repeating patterns & symbols- allusions, details…etc.

5. POINT OF VIEW
Remember, someone is always between the
reader and the action of the story. That
someone is telling the story from his or her own
point of view. This angle of vision, the point of
view from which the people, events and details
of a story are viewed, is important to consider
when reading a story.

The Rise of the Novel
Class Reading Session
Refer students to the file
“Background Reading”

Q&A

NEXT Week
Module 2: Charles Dickens’ Hard Times

Have a super day….

Lane 342: Module 1

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